Photos from Houston, Texas: when highways turn into rivers

The catastrophic rains have flooded nearly the entire city of Houston, including major roads where several people have been rescued from their cars. Hundreds of thousands are without electricity. Total precipitation could reach a startling 50 inches in some coastal areas of Texas by the end of the week, or the average rainfall for an entire year.

Por:Univision

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Rescue boats fill a flooded street as flood victims are evacuated as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston. (AP)

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Water from Addicks Reservoir flows into neighborhoods as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise.

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Victims of Tropical Storm Harvey seek shelter in Houston convention center. (AP)

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Two people on a flooded section of Interstate 610 in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey. Aug 27 2017. (AP)

AP

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Several vehicles were trapped on Interstate 10. At least five people have been killed and dozens wounded as a result of Harvey's passage through southern Texas.

Getty Images

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Highways in the center of Houston have become rivers. Parts of the southeast Houston metro area had received more than 30 inches of rain since Thursday evening.

Getty Images

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Volunteers rescue residents in River Oaks, Houston. Some 2,000 people have already been rescued. There are hundreds more rescue operations underway, according to authorities.

Getty Images

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A cargo truck was submerged in Houston, Texas.

Ap

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A highway in Woodlands, Texas. Parts of southeast Houston saw more than two feet of rain in 24 hours.

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Residents rescue stranded drivers with small boats. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that 30,000 people will go to shelters and 450,000 will seek federal assistance.

Reuters

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Harvey, already downgraded to a tropical storm, continues to cause heavy rainfall and catastrophic flooding. At least another 25 inches of water are forecast until Friday.

Reuters

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A street in southeast Houston is completely flooded. The National Weather Services says the city is facing "historic" levels of flooding, never seen before.

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Highway 610.

Ap

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Julius Verret, 14, floats in Lake Charles, Texas.

Ap

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Residents float down a flooded Houston street. Donald Trump will travel to the state Tuesday to examine the damage.

Ap

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A woman is rescued. In some areas of Houston, up to 50 inches of rain could accumulate before the storm ends.

Ap

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Franklin Halloween and Deleon Gambel fight against the flow of water.

Ap

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Neighbors help eachother in Friendswood, Houston. There are already 5,500 people in shelters in the city, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner, but this number is expected to increase considerably.

Ap

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A car is completely submerged. The center of Tropic Storm Harvey is expected to drift back toward the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service, "bringing more torrential rainfall to the flooded Houston metro area, piling onto record-breaking, catastrophic flooding."

Ap

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Mayor Sylvester said that Multiservice Centers have been opened at different points across the city for those who can not leave.

Ap

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Hundreds of thousands are without electricity.

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Interstate 225 in Houston, Texas. This may end up being one of the worst flood disasters in U.S. history.

REUTERS / Nick Oxford